When person on joint account is deceased

[Anonymous]

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@DI wrote:

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@KatherineLee wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses and best wishes for my family.

Your replies were basically what I was expecting would happen.  I'll keep you guys posted if I have some hassles with particular lenders and such.  Today I am going to try to pull a couple of my mother's credit reports to find out where she actually does have credit (since my dad didn't really follow that)  - then I'll start to close the individual accounts.   I hope this doesn't steal away a significant amount of my Tuesday. 

By chance... and I will probably post this in the student loans section, what happens if my mother was my co-signer on a Minnesota Dept of Higher Education student SELF loan?  I don't think anything really changes except they only can kill my credit score if I default now? Right?  I still have a $12,000 balance with this student loan which is currently deferred while I'm in graduate school for 4+ years. 

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It is illegal to pull someone's credit report without their consent.

	Important Note: You must agree to the three statements below to dispute information in your credit report:	I agree to the terms and conditions.
I certify that I am viewing my own personal report or disputing information on my own personal report.
I understand that it is a federal crime subject to incarceration and/or monetary penalties to obtain a personal credit report for someone other than myself, and that intentionally making any false statements could be punishable by law.

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Virtually impossible they will prosecute someone for pulling their deceased parent's credit report for purposes of finding out what debts they have.

[Anonymous]

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@KatherineLee wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses and best wishes for my family.

Your replies were basically what I was expecting would happen.  I'll keep you guys posted if I have some hassles with particular lenders and such.  Today I am going to try to pull a couple of my mother's credit reports to find out where she actually does have credit (since my dad didn't really follow that)  - then I'll start to close the individual accounts.   I hope this doesn't steal away a significant amount of my Tuesday. 

By chance... and I will probably post this in the student loans section, what happens if my mother was my co-signer on a Minnesota Dept of Higher Education student SELF loan?  I don't think anything really changes except they only can kill my credit score if I default now? Right?  I still have a $12,000 balance with this student loan which is currently deferred while I'm in graduate school for 4+ years. 

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Regarding the student loan, in theory they could try and collect from the estate, but in practice that is very unlikely.  First of all, by the time you ever defaulted (if ever) there would be no estate.  Your father would be no longer filing a joint tax return so they could not go for a tax offset.

They would, though, go after you. 

[Wolf3]

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@DI wrote:

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@KatherineLee wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses and best wishes for my family.

Your replies were basically what I was expecting would happen.  I'll keep you guys posted if I have some hassles with particular lenders and such.  Today I am going to try to pull a couple of my mother's credit reports to find out where she actually does have credit (since my dad didn't really follow that)  - then I'll start to close the individual accounts.   I hope this doesn't steal away a significant amount of my Tuesday. 

By chance... and I will probably post this in the student loans section, what happens if my mother was my co-signer on a Minnesota Dept of Higher Education student SELF loan?  I don't think anything really changes except they only can kill my credit score if I default now? Right?  I still have a $12,000 balance with this student loan which is currently deferred while I'm in graduate school for 4+ years. 

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It is illegal to pull someone's credit report without their consent.

	Important Note: You must agree to the three statements below to dispute information in your credit report:	I agree to the terms and conditions.
I certify that I am viewing my own personal report or disputing information on my own personal report.
I understand that it is a federal crime subject to incarceration and/or monetary penalties to obtain a personal credit report for someone other than myself, and that intentionally making any false statements could be punishable by law.

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What you have posted says it is illegal to pull someone else report (consent or not). 

Regardless, I doubt that it applies.    My guess is the executor of the estate has the right to pull the credit report of the estate. 

[KatherineLee]

Thanks for warning me about pulling someone else's credit report.  I'll have to discuss with my father then what we should do.  We know my mother has lots of credit accounts for different stores and such but without physical evidence of EVERY card, how would we know what accounts she does have?   I assume that my father would never be responsible for any charges on these individual accounts (in my mother's name) dated after the dated on her death certificate, but it still just sounds like a risk to me.  I would feel better knowing that all the accounts were closed and no one was piggy backing off my mother's identity.

I guess this is just another reason why couples should share responsibility in the doing the finances - then it wouldn't be up to me to teach my father how to internet banking, the difference between a debit and credit card, and that he doesn't need a Kohl's charge card to buy things at Kohl's.  Can you understand now why I want to just take care of these things for him?  He really needs help. 

[KatherineLee]

I tried researching a bit about the credit report.  I found the following web site that basically says what some of you have suggested in case any of you are interested - 

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_templates/Letter_templates.shtml

[DI]

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@KatherineLee wrote:

I tried researching a bit about the credit report.  I found the following web site that basically says what some of you have suggested in case any of you are interested - 

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_templates/Letter_templates.shtml

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Perfect!  You see, there's always a proper way to handle situations like these. 

[Anonymous]

Just one side-note about the attached form -

The website states

  "ITRC Letter Form 117-1 is to be sent to the three Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to request the information on somebody who is deceased.  NOTE: Only the surviving spouse, someone with power of attorney for the deceased, or the executor of the estate may request this information. For more information on what is required by the three CRAs please see ITRC Fact Sheet 117 - Identity Theft and the Deceased: Prevention and Victim Tips."

It is not legally possible to have a power of attorney for a deceased person.   Any and all Power of Attorney documents become powerless when someone dies, as does a guardianship.  The only person that would have permission to handle business on behalf of the decedent would be the Executor/Executrix/Personal Representative/Administrator  OR a joint owner of the account. 

If a person has a will, they name the Executor and usually an alternate if that person is unwilling or unable.  The Will must then be filed and Letters of Administration will then be written by the Register of Wills naming the Executor.  If there is no Will filed then the person that wishes to become Executor/Personal Representative must file papers and have Letters Testamentary granted through Register of Wills.   (Please note that your state may have a different name for these papers but they are usually called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.) 

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KatherineLee wrote:

I tried researching a bit about the credit report.  I found the following web site that basically says what some of you have suggested in case any of you are interested - 

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_templates/Letter_templates.shtml

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[Wolf3]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just one side-note about the attached form -

The website states

  "ITRC Letter Form 117-1 is to be sent to the three Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to request the information on somebody who is deceased.  NOTE: Only the surviving spouse, someone with power of attorney for the deceased, or the executor of the estate may request this information. For more information on what is required by the three CRAs please see ITRC Fact Sheet 117 - Identity Theft and the Deceased: Prevention and Victim Tips."

It is not legally possible to have a power of attorney for a deceased person.   Any and all Power of Attorney documents become powerless when someone dies, as does a guardianship.  The only person that would have permission to handle business on behalf of the decedent would be the Executor/Executrix/Personal Representative/Administrator  OR a joint owner of the account. 

If a person has a will, they name the Executor and usually an alternate if that person is unwilling or unable.  The Will must then be filed and Letters of Administration will then be written by the Register of Wills naming the Executor.  If there is no Will filed then the person that wishes to become Executor/Personal Representative must file papers and have Letters Testamentary granted through Register of Wills.   (Please note that your state may have a different name for these papers but they are usually called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.) 

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@KatherineLee wrote:

I tried researching a bit about the credit report.  I found the following web site that basically says what some of you have suggested in case any of you are interested - 

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_templates/Letter_templates.shtml

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You have excluded the "surviving spouse" as someone who can pull the reports.     Did you mean that?

[Anonymous]

I do not know if a surviving spouse can pull the reports or not.   I do know that someone that had a POA of "Mrs. X" before she died can not use that POA (Power of Attorney) to pull "Mrs. X's" report AFTER her death.   It is no longer a valid document.   According to the website that someone else linked in a couple posts up (which I copied from), the surviving spouse can pull a report and so can an executor.  Aside from that one part, I think the form and site they linked is very useful.

I just wanted to point out that there is no such thing as a power of attorney for a deceased person.   A lot of my clients try to say they have POA over their parents when their parents are deceased and it's not accurate.   We inform them that we can only release information to the personal representative (aka executor).  

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@Wolf3 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just one side-note about the attached form -

The website states

  "ITRC Letter Form 117-1 is to be sent to the three Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to request the information on somebody who is deceased.  NOTE: Only the surviving spouse, someone with power of attorney for the deceased, or the executor of the estate may request this information. For more information on what is required by the three CRAs please see ITRC Fact Sheet 117 - Identity Theft and the Deceased: Prevention and Victim Tips."

It is not legally possible to have a power of attorney for a deceased person.   Any and all Power of Attorney documents become powerless when someone dies, as does a guardianship.  The only person that would have permission to handle business on behalf of the decedent would be the Executor/Executrix/Personal Representative/Administrator  OR a joint owner of the account. 

If a person has a will, they name the Executor and usually an alternate if that person is unwilling or unable.  The Will must then be filed and Letters of Administration will then be written by the Register of Wills naming the Executor.  If there is no Will filed then the person that wishes to become Executor/Personal Representative must file papers and have Letters Testamentary granted through Register of Wills.   (Please note that your state may have a different name for these papers but they are usually called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.) 

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@KatherineLee wrote:

I tried researching a bit about the credit report.  I found the following web site that basically says what some of you have suggested in case any of you are interested - 

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_templates/Letter_templates.shtml

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You have excluded the "surviving spouse" as someone who can pull the reports.     Did you mean that?

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[chan85]

moonlitnight wrote: Just one side-note about the attached form - The website states "ITRC Letter Form 117-1 is to be sent to the three Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to request the information on somebody who is deceased. NOTE: Only the surviving spouse, someone with power of attorney for the deceased, or the executor of the estate may request this information. For more information on what is required by the three CRAs please see ITRC Fact Sheet 117 - Identity Theft and the Deceased: Prevention and Victim Tips." It is not legally possible to have a power of attorney for a deceased person. Any and all Power of Attorney documents become powerless when someone dies, as does a guardianship. The only person that would have permission to handle business on behalf of the decedent would be the Executor/Executrix/Personal Representative/Administrator OR a joint owner of the account. If a person has a will, they name the Executor and usually an alternate if that person is unwilling or unable. The Will must then be filed and Letters of Administration will then be written by the Register of Wills naming the Executor. If there is no Will filed then the person that wishes to become Executor/Personal Representative must file papers and have Letters Testamentary granted through Register of Wills. (Please note that your state may have a different name for these papers but they are usually called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.)

I think he is refering to that first part of the sentence that you highlighted...